Elon Musk's electric vehicle company is facing a massive lawsuit from 25 California counties, accusing it of mishandling hazardous and polluting waste at facilities across the state, according to a complaint filed in San Joaquin County Superior Court.
According to the lawsuit, Tesla did not properly handle hazardous waste materials, including lubricating oils, brake fluids, batteries containing lead acid, aerosols, antifreeze, cleaning fluids, propane, paint, acetone, liquid petroleum gas, glues and diesel fuel.
It is also claimed that Tesla "continues to do this regularly in its facilities even these days".
Musk and Tesla began the dedication of the Cybertruck.
The problems keep popping up.
Archive // Photo: Reuters
According to a report that surfaced in Reuters, the lawsuit, which was filed after months of negotiations, seeks to impose fines and issue an injunction that would force Tesla to properly handle its waste.
Those fines can also amount to $70,000 for each day of violation, which can add up to millions of dollars.
Tesla, for its part, previously revealed that it was being investigated by district attorneys in California for handling its waste management as early as 2022. According to the company, it implemented "various corrective measures, which included, among other things, conducting training for employees and managers, conducting regular audits and improving its waste management programs."
Tesla's production line at the company's factory in the USA. Accusations of a lack of handling of hazardous waste, photo: AFP
This is not the first time that Tesla has faced legal consequences for its poor handling of hazardous and polluting waste.
In 2019, the company reached a settlement with the US Environmental Protection Agency for federal violations of the Hazardous Materials Act.
As part of that settlement, Tesla agreed to make changes to its handling of waste coming from the Fremont plant and pay a $31,000 fine.
rich people's problems
Another disappointment was recorded in the last few days in the judgment of Musk and Tesla, when the court in the state of Delaware invalidated the salary deal between the tycoon and the electric vehicle company, which in 2018 awarded him a salary package in the amount of 56 billion dollars for his position as CEO (an amount that helped propel him to the top of the world's richest).
The person who originally filed the lawsuit and exposed the story to the judicial system and the public was Richard Torrenta, one of Tesla's shareholders, who accused the automaker of violating its fiduciary duty by approving a pay package that unjustly enriched its CEO
.
Elon Musk and Tesla on Wall Street.
Disproportional salary deal.
Archive, photo: Reuters archive
As mentioned, the court accepted Torrenta's claim and agreed that the bonus amount in question is "unfathomable" and unfair to the company's shareholders.
The decision also stated that Musk "enjoys close ties with the directors who were responsible for the negotiations with him on behalf of the Tesla company, which means that there was no significant negotiation on any of the clauses in the contract."
In response to the court's decision, Musk published a post on X (formerly Twitter, a social platform he also controls, D.G.): "Never register your company in the state of Delaware."
Musk also published a survey in which he asked his followers whether Tesla should move its registration to Texas, where the company's physical headquarters are located.
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us